June 7 (Reuters) - The widow and the son of former PennState football coach Joe Paterno said on Thursday they were notaware they might be called as witnesses in the child sexualabuse trial of Paterno's long-time assistant, Jerry Sandusky.

Sandusky's defense lawyer Joe Amendola listed the latecoach's widow, Sue, and son Jay as potential witnesses for thedefense during the jury selection process, which concluded onWednesday. The trial is being held in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

"Over the last few days, numerous reporters have inquiredabout the news that Sue Paterno and Jay Paterno have been listedas possible witnesses in the upcoming trial of Jerry Sandusky,"a statement issued by family spokesman Wick Sollers said.

"The Paternos had no advance notice of this development andhave no idea if they will in fact be called to testify."

Opening statements begin on Monday in a case that hasfocused attention on the issue of child sexual abuse.

A jury of seven women and five men will consider the chargesagainst Sandusky - 52 counts of molesting 10 boys over a 15-yearperiod. He has pleaded not guilty and faces a possible sentenceof more than 500 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Prosecutors have accused Sandusky, 68, of meeting the boysthrough a charity he founded, the Second Mile, and have saidsome of the assaults occurred at Penn State facilities.

ALUMNI SURVEY

The sexual abuse charges shook Penn State, prompting thefiring of both Paterno, the coach with the most victories inmajor U.S. college football history, and university PresidentGraham Spanier. Paterno died of lung cancer in January, justover two months after his dismissal.

While the trial is under way, the Paterno family will notmake any further public comment "unless something exceptionaland unexpected develops," according to the statement.

Underscoring the emotions stirred by Paterno's firing, anopinion survey by the Penn State Alumni Association showed that58 percent of alumni were critical of the school's handling ofthe coach.

Twenty percent were critical of its handling of Spanier,according to the survey released on Thursday.

Penn State also said in a statement it had completed a newpolicy for reporting suspected child abuse, including mandatedreporter training for all employees.

In addition, if an employee willfully fails to reportsuspected child abuse, it will result in disciplinary action, upto and including firing.

As part of the Sandusky scandal, two university officialsface charges of perjury and failing to report suspected abuse.